Assembly for chair and chair including the same

ABSTRACT

An assembly for a chair and a chair including the same are provided. The assembly includes a body coupled to an upper portion of a leg of the chair, a pair of supports extending forward from opposite sides of the body and coupled to a bottom surface of a seating part, and a pair of connecting frames extending backward from the opposite sides of the body, bent upward, and shaft-coupled to the opposite sides of the body and the seating part. A tilting operation is performed to rotate downward the seating part and a backrest to adjust inclinations of the seating part and the backrest using a weight of a user applied to the seating part and elastic force of the support and the connecting frame.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an assembly for a chair and a char including the same. More particularly, the present invention relates to an assembly for a chair, capable of tilting a seating plate forward or backward using elasticity of a support to support the seating plate, and a chair including the same.

2. Description of the Related Art

A chair, which includes a seating plate, a leg, or a backrest, is used for a user to allow the user to sit and perform various tasks. In the situation that the user has to sit for a long time, the selection of a chair appropriate to the user is important. To this regard, the chair has a function of adjusting the height of the seating plate or the angle of the backrest. Nevertheless, when the user is seated on a chair for a long time, the user has a fixed posture, the pain or the deformation of the physical body of the user may be caused. Accordingly, there has been developed a chair employing various manners as well as a technology of tilting a backrest in various directions to provide a more advanced function.

For example, following patent documents 1 to 4 disclose the configuration of a chair employing a tilting technology.

Patent document 1 discloses a frame-type chair including a leg frame, an armrest frame coupled to one side of the leg frame, a backrest, and a frame titling member coupled between the armrest frame and the backrest to guide the backrest such that the backrest is titled, thereby allowing a user to have a correct seating habit and minimizing causes of pains such as a back pain.

Patent document 2 discloses a tilting chair including a main shaft, a back frame, or a torsion bar. The tilting chair includes a torsion adjusting block movably mounted in the main shaft, and a torsion adjusting groove having a stopper of the torsion adjusting block, which is received therein, and formed in the main shaft, thereby improving comfortability variously required by each user by adjusting the torsion elasticity of the torsion bar depending on the movement of the torsion adjusting block.

Patent document 3 discloses a tilting support rod connected with a seating plate of a chair while crossing a lower portion of the seating plate, a tilting-rotation frame coupled to an armrest to couple the tilting support rod to a chair backrest, and a torsion bar spring assembly provided inside the tilting support rod and coupled to the tilting-rotation frame to be titled when a user reclines a backrest backward in the state that the user is seated on the seating plate of the chair.

Patent document 4 discloses a chair assembly including a tilting adjusting unit to limit the maximum tilting angle to be in multi-stages in a tilting operation of adjusting inclinations of a seating plate and a backrest, such that a user adjust a tilting degree of the seating part and the backrest when tilting the seating part and the backrest by adjusting the tension of an elastic member as the user rotates a lever after extending the lever mounted in front of a body

However, according to patent documents 1 to 3, as only the backrest is tilted forward or backward in the state that the seating plate is fixed, the user effectively fails to tilt the seating plate and the backrest suitably the body shape or the posture of the user.

In addition, according to an assembly for a chair according to the related art, a torsion bar or a spring has to be applied for a tilting operation of a seating plate and a backrest, and an additional part, such as an adjusting blot, to adjust the elasticity in the tilting operation has to be applied.

Therefore, according to the assembly for the chair of the related art, the structure may be complicated, and the workability may be degraded in the work of manufacturing the assembly for the chair, and the manufacturing cost may be increased.

DOCUMENT OF RELATED ART Patent Document

(Patent Document 1) Korean Patent Registration No. 10-1412406 (issued on Jun. 27, 2014).

(Patent Document 2) Korean Patent Registration No. 10-1426546 (Aug. 14, 2014).

(Patent Document 3) Korean Patent Registration No. 10-1960336 (Mar. 20, 2019).

(Patent Document 4) Korean Patent Registration No. 10-1902770 (Oct. 1, 2018).

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To solve the problems described above, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems and to provide an assembly for a chair, capable of performing a titling operation of adjusting inclinations of a seating part and a backrest using the weight of a user applied to the seating part and the elasticity of the assembly to support the seating part, and a chair including the same.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an assembly for a chair, capable of simplifying the structure of the assembly, which is able to perform a titling operation in a seating part and a backrest, of minimizing the number of parts, and of being manufactured in slim size, and a chair including the same.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an assembly for a chair, capable of locking a titling operating if necessary, and a chair including the same.

According to an aspect of the present invention, an assembly for a chair includes a body coupled to an upper portion of a leg of the chair, a pair of supports extending forward from opposite sides of the body and coupled to a bottom surface of a seating part, and a pair of connecting frames extending backward from the opposite sides of the body, bent upward, and shaft-coupled to the opposite sides of the body and the seating part. A tilting operation is performed to rotate downward the seating part and a backrest to adjust inclinations of the seating part and the backrest using a weight of a user applied to the seating part and elastic force of the support and the connecting frame.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a chair employing the assembly for the chair according to the present invention includes the assembly for the chair, and the assembly performs a tilting operation of adjusting a seating part and a backrest, and performs locking or unlocking the tilting operation, by using elastic force of connecting frames to couple a pair of supports, which support the seating part, a body, and the backrest.

As described above, in the assembly for the chair and the chair including the same according to the present invention, the seating part and the backrest may be titled backward due to the weight of the user applied to the seating part and the elasticity of the support and the connection frame, which are injection-molded with synthetic resin.

In addition, according to the present invention, the parts, such as the torsion bar or the spring, for the titling operation according to the related art are removed, thereby minimizing the number of whole parts. Accordingly, the workability may be improved in the assembling work and the manufacturing cost may be saved.

Further, according to the present invention, the tilting degrees of the seating part and the backrest may be adjusted depending on the weight of the user in the tilting operation of the seating part and the backrest.

In addition, according to the present invention, the structure of the assembly for the chair may be simplified and the slim assembly for the char may be realized.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a chair including a chair assembly, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a chair of FIG. 1 when viewed from another angle;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a chair assembly according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a chair assembly illustrated in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line A-A of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a plan view illustrating a chair assembly of the FIG. 3; and

FIGS. 7 to 9 are views illustrating the tilting operation of a chair including a chair assembly according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, an assembly (chair assembly) for a chair and a chair including the same according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to accompanying drawings.

Herein, the direction that a backrest is mounted, based on a seating part is referred to as ‘backward of a chair’, and a direction opposite to the backward direction is referred to as ‘forward of the chair’.

In addition, the operation of adjusting the inclination of the seating part and the backrest is referred to as a ‘titling operation’.

Accordingly, the terms, such as ‘left’, ‘right’, ‘up’, and ‘down’, indicating the directions are defined based on ‘forward’ and ‘backward’.

Hereinafter, the configuration of the chair including the chair assembly will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the chair including the chair assembly according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the chair of FIG. 1 when viewed from another angle.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exploded state of a seating part.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, a chair 10 including a chair assembly 14 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes a seating part 11 to seat a user, a leg part 12, which is provided under the seating part 11 and has a plurality of wheels attached thereto, a backrest 13 coupled to a rear portion of the seating part 11, and the chair assembly 14 mounted under the seating part 11 to adjust the height of the seating part 11, to perform a tilting operation of adjusting the inclinations of the seating part 11 and the backrest 13, and to lock or unlock the tilting operation.

Armrests 19 are provided at opposite sides of the backrest 13 to support the arms of a user, and a head rest (not illustrated) may be mounted on an upper end portion of the backrest 13 to support the head of the user.

According to the present embodiment, the backrest 13 is coupled to a pair of connecting frames 40 extending backward from opposite sides of the chair assembly 14 and extending upward to be tilted backward together with the seating part 11 when the seating part 11 is tilted.

In addition, the armrest 19 may extend forward from the top of each connecting frame 40.

A cylinder 15 may be mounted on an upper portion of the leg part 12 to perform an expansion/contraction movement such that the height of the seating part 11 is adjusted.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the seating part 11 may include a seating plate 16 disposed to be titled at an upper portion of the chair assembly 14, a coupling plate 17 detachably coupled to a lower portion of the seating plate 16, and a cushion 18 to cover a top surface and sidewalls of the seating plate 16.

The seating plate 16 has a space formed in a bottom surface thereof such that the coupling plate 18 is coupled to the bottom surface of the seating plate 16, and an inclination part 161 may be formed along an edge of the bottom surface of the seating plate 16 such that the inclination part 161 is inclined inward of the seating plate 16 (see FIG. 15).

In addition, the coupling plate 17 may have an area slightly larger than that of the bottom surface of the seating plate 16.

In this case, the seating plate 16 may be formed of synthetic resin, and the coupling plate 17 may be coupled to the bottom surface of the seating plate 16 while elastically deforming the inclination part 161 outward.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the coupling plate may be coupled to or decoupled from the seating plate by elastically deforming the inclination part formed along the edge of the bottom surface of the seating plate, without providing an additional coupling structure such as a coupling protrusion and a coupling groove.

In particular, according to the present invention, the coupling plate may be easily coupled to or easily decoupled from the seating plate through one manipulation using the elastic deformation of the inclination part.

Hereinafter, the structure of the chair assembly 14 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 illustrates a chair assembly according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the chair assembly illustrated in FIG. 3, FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line A-A of FIG. 3, and FIG. 6 is a plan view illustrating chair assembly of the FIG. 3.

FIGS. 3 and 6 illustrate that the coupling plate of the seating part is coupled to the top surface of the chair assembly of the seating part, and FIG. 5 illustrates that the coupling plate of the seating part is coupled to the top surface of the chair assembly.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 6, the chair assembly 14 includes a body 20 coupled to an upper portion of the cylinder 15, a pair of supports 30 extending forward from opposite sides of the body 20 and coupled to the bottom surface of the seating part 11, and a pair of connecting frames 40 extending backward from opposite sides of the body 20, bent upward, and shaft-coupled to opposite surfaces of the body 20 and the seating part 11.

In addition, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the chair assembly 14 may further include an adjustment lever 50 to adjust the height of the seating part 11 by pressing down an opening/closing pin provided at an upper end portion of the cylinder 15, and a locking part 60 to lock the tilting operation.

The body 20 may be formed in a hexahedron shape having a substantially rectangular cross section when viewed from the top, and a coupling cylinder part 21 is provided at the central portion of the body 20 such that the upper end portion of the cylinder 15 is coupled to the coupling cylinder part 21.

The coupling cylinder part 21 may have a substantially cylindrical shape, protrudes upward and downward from the center of the body 20, and may have a space formed at the center thereof such that the upper end portion of the cylinder 15 is coupled to the coupling cylinder part 21.

The adjustment lever 50 may be coupled to one side of the coupling cylinder part 21 to be rotatable upward and downward.

The adjustment lever 50 may be shaft-coupled to one side of the coupling cylinder part 21 and may rotate upward and downward through the manipulation of a user.

Accordingly, when the user pulls upward an outer end portion of the adjustment lever 50, an inner end portion of the adjustment lever 50 rotates downward about a shaft 51 to press the opening/closing pin provided at the upper end portion of the cylinder 15.

Accordingly, as the sealing state of the cylinder 15 is released, the height of the seating part 11 may be adjusted.

Meanwhile, when the user releases the pulling operation of the adjustment lever 50, as the opening/closing pin of the cylinder 15 moves upward, the inner end portion of the adjustment lever 50 is lifted, the expansion/contraction state of the cylinder 15 is fixed, and the seating part 11 is maintained at the adjusted height.

Meanwhile, a fixing block 22 may be formed on a rear top surface of the body 20 to protrude upward through a through hole 171 formed in the coupling plate 17.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, the fixing block 22 makes contact with a rear end portion of a rotation bar 62 of the locking part 60 to be described hereinafter to lock the tilting operation of the chair assembly 14.

In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the fixing block 22 prevents the seating part 11 from rotating forward and limits the distance for backward-rotation to a front-rear width of the through hole 171 when the seating part 11 is titled.

When the front end portion of the seating part 11 moves down to rotate forward, the weight of the user is concentrated forward, so the user becomes in an unstable posture.

Accordingly, the rear surface of the fixing block 22 is disposed in contact with the rear end portion of the through hole 171, which prevents the forward-rotation of the seating part 11.

To the contrary, the fixing block 22 is separated from the rear end portion of the through hole 171 when the seating part 11 and the backrest 13 rotates backward to be tilted.

In addition, when the seating part 11 and the backrest 13 continuously rotate backward and make contact with the front end portion of the through hole 11, the fixing block 22 supports the seating part 11 and the backrest 13 to prevent the seating part 11 and the backrest 13 from rotating backward any more, thereby restricting a rotatable distance.

The pair of supports 30 may extend forward and upward from opposite sides of the body 20, respectively.

The body 20 and the pair of supports 30 may be integrally injection-molded using synthetic resin, such as plastic, to be elastically deformed.

In addition, each support 30 may be provided in the form of a curved palate having a surface curved forward with a preset curvature, when viewed from the side.

A first shaft 31 may be coupled to a front end portion of each support 30 such that the front end portion of the coupling plate 17 of the seating part 11 rotates about a shaft.

Each of the connecting frames 40 may extend backward and be bent upward such that the sectional surface of the connecting frame 40 have the substantially inverse L shape when viewed from the side.

The connecting frame 40 may be injection-molded using synthetic resin, such as plastic, to be elastically deformed.

Each connecting frame 40 is formed at the front end portion thereof with a coupling protruding part 41, which is convex upward, and a second shaft 42 may be mounted on each coupling protruding part 41 such that the rear end portion of the coupling plate 17 of the seating part 11 is rotatably coupled to the second shaft 42.

A third shaft 43 may be mounted on the front end portion of an inner surface of each connecting frame 40 such that the front end portion of each connecting frame 40 is rotatably coupled to the body 20.

Therefore, the coupling plate 17 may rotate backward in the tilting operation using elastic force of the body 20 and the coupling plate 17, in the state that the front end portion and the lower end portion of the coupling plate 17 are coupled to the first shaft 31 and the second shaft 42, respectively.

In addition, the connecting frame 40 may rotate forward or backward using the elastic force of the connecting frame 40 in the tilting operation, in the state that the front end portion of the connecting frame 40 is coupled to the rear end portion of the coupling plate 17 and the body 20 through the second shaft 42 and the third shaft 43.

In this case, the second shaft 42 may rotate about the third shaft 43 in the direction that the coupling plate 17 is tilted.

Accordingly, the backrest 13 coupled to the pair of connecting frames 40 may rotate forward or backward together with the connecting frames 40.

Meanwhile, the locking part 60 includes a manipulation lever 61 mounted to linearly reciprocate left and right through the manipulation of a user and a rotation bar 62 rotatably mounted left and right by a movement of the manipulation lever 61.

The front end portion of the rotation bar 62 may be coupled to the inner end portion of the manipulation lever 61, and a fixing bolt 65 may be fastened with the central portion of the rotation bar 62 to be fixed to the top surface the coupling plate 17.

In this case, the fixing bolt 65 may serve as a hinge shaft allowing the rotation bar 62 to rotate.

In addition, the coupling protrusion 63 may protrude upward from the top surface of the inner end portion of the manipulation lever 60, and a coupling hole 64 may be formed in the front end portion of the rotation bar 62 to be coupled to the coupling protrusion 63.

The coupling hole 64 may be formed in an elongated shape such that the rotation bar 62 rotates about the fixing bolt 65 in the state that the coupling protrusion 63 is coupled to the coupling hole 64.

Therefore, when the user pulls the manipulation lever 61 outward from the seating part 11, that is, when the user pulls the manipulation lever 61 leftward when viewed in FIG. 5, the rear end portion of the rotation bar 62, which has the front end portion coupled to the inner end portion of the manipulation lever 61, rotates inward of the seating part 11 about the fixing bolt 65.

As described above, when the rear end portion of the rotation bar 62 rotates to make contact with the fixing block 22 formed in the body 20, the seating part 11 and the backrest 13 are locked such that the seating part 11 and the backrest 13 are prevented from being tilted.

Hereinafter, a method for tilting the chair including the chair assembly 14 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 to 9.

FIGS. 7 to 9 are views illustrating the tilting operation of the chair including the chair assembly according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 illustrates a chair in the normal state in which the weight of the user is not applied to the seating part, FIG. 8 illustrates a chair in the state the seating part rotates backward at a specific angle, as the weight of the user is applied to the seating part, and FIG. 9 is a view illustrating the chair tilted as the seating part and the backrest rotate backward.

First, in the normal state in which the weight of the user is not applied to the seating part as the user is not seated on the seating part 11, as illustrated in FIG. 7, the seating part 11 is disposed in a horizontal state or a state slightly rotated backward due to the elasticity of the body 20, the pair of supports 30, and the connecting frame 40 constituting the chair assembly 14.

In this case, the connecting frame 40 is disposed to be inclined forward at a specific angle in the range of for example, about 15° to 20° with respect to the upper direction.

When the user is seated on the seating part 11, as the weight of the user is applied to the seating part 11, the body 20 and the support 30, and the connecting frame 40 are elastically deformed to face downward from a front portion and a rear portion about the cylinder 15, respectively.

In this case, as the fixing block 22 protruding from the top surface of the body 20 makes contact with the rear end portion of the through hole 171 of the coupling plate 17, the forward rotation of the seating part 11 is prevented.

To the contrary, the connecting frame 40 rotates, which couples the body 20 with the connecting frame 40, at a specific angle in the range of, for example, about 5° to 10° downward from the rear portion about the third shaft 43. Accordingly, the rear end portion of the seating part 11 may rotate downward at an angle in the range of about 5° to 10°.

In addition, according to the present invention, the tilting degree of the seating part and the backrest may be adjusted in the tilting operation of the seating part and the backrest depending on the weight of the user applied to the seating part.

Meanwhile, when the user presses the rear end portion of the seating part 11 downward or presses the backrest 13 backward, the seating part 11 rotates downward about the third shaft 43 and the connecting frame 40 coupled to the backrest 13 rotates backward, as illustrated in FIG. 9.

In this case, the support 30 is coupled to the front end portion of the seating part 11 by the first shaft 31. Accordingly, the support 30 is elastically deformed to rotate upward.

As described above, according to the present invention, the seating part and the backrest may be titled forward or downward using the weight of the user and the elastic force of the connecting frame and the body injection-molded with the synthetic resin.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the parts, such as the torsion bar or the spring, for the titling operation according to the related art are removed, thereby minimizing the number of the parts. Accordingly, the workability may be improved in the assembling work and the manufacturing cost may be saved.

In addition, according to the present invention, the structure of the chair assembly may be simplified and the slim chair assembly may be realized.

The disclosed embodiments of the present invention do not limit the technical spirit of the present invention but are illustrative, and the scope of the technical spirit of the present invention is not limited by the embodiments of the present invention. The scope of the present invention should be construed by the claims, and it will be understood that all the technical spirits within the equivalent range fall within the scope of the present invention.

The present invention is applied to a chair assembly, capable of tilting the seating part and the backrest backward using the weight of the user and the self-elastic force of the assembly, and a technology of a chair including the same. 

1. An assembly for a chair, comprising: a body coupled to an upper portion of a leg of the chair; a pair of supports extending forward from opposite sides of the body and coupled to a bottom surface of a seating part; and a pair of connecting frames extending backward from the opposite sides of the body, bent upward, and shaft-coupled to the opposite sides of the body and the seating part, wherein a tilting operation is performed to rotate downward the seating part and a backrest to adjust inclinations of the seating part and the backrest using a weight of a user applied to the seating part and elastic force of the support and the connecting frame.
 2. The assembly of claim 1, further comprising: an adjustment lever to adjust a height of the seating part by pressing down an opening/closing pin provided at an upper end portion of a cylinder; and a locking part to lock the titling operation of the seating part and the backrest, wherein a coupling cylinder part is provided in the body to be coupled to an upper end portion of the cylinder, and wherein the adjustment lever is shaft-coupled to one side of the coupling cylinder part and rotatably mounted in a vertical direction.
 3. The assembly of claim 2, wherein the pair of supports are integrally injection-molded together with the body using synthetic resin to be elastically deformed as the seating part is rotated forward or backward, and wherein the pair of supports include curved plates having curved surfaces convex forward.
 4. The assembly of claim 2, wherein a front end portion of each of the supports is rotatably coupled to a front end portion of the seating part through a first shaft, wherein coupling protrusions are formed at front end portions of the pair of connecting frames and have a shape convex upward, and wherein the coupling protrusion includes: a second shaft to rotatably couple a rear end portion of the seating part to the coupling protrusion; and a third shaft to rotatably couple the body to the coupling protrusion.
 5. The assembly of claim 2, wherein the backrest is coupled onto the pair of connecting frames, and wherein the connecting frames are injection-molded using synthetic resin such that the connecting frames are elastically deformed due to weight of the user applied to the seating part and backward-rotation of the backrest when the user is seated.
 6. The assembly of claim 2, wherein the body includes a fixing block protruding upward from a central portion of the body, and wherein the fixing block protrudes upward through a through hole formed through the bottom surface of the seating part to limit a rotatable distance of the seating part to a front-rear width of the through hole, and to prevent the seating part from being rotated forward, in the tilting operation of the seating part.
 7. The assembly of claim 6, wherein the locking part includes: a manipulation lever mounted to linearly reciprocate in a left or right direction of the seating part; and a rotation bar mounted to be rotatable left and right by movement of the manipulation lever, wherein the fixing block protrudes upward from the central portion of the body, and wherein the rotation bar rotates by manipulation of the user to make contact with the fixing block and to lock the tilting operation of the seating part and the backrest.
 8. A chair including the assembly for the chair according to claim 1, wherein a tilting operation of adjusting a gradient of a seating part and a backrest, and a locking or unlocking operation for the tilting operation are performed by using elastic force of a connecting frame coupled to a pair of supports and a body, which support the seating part in the assembly for the chair, and a backrest.
 9. The chair of claim 8, wherein the seating part includes: a seating plate disposed on a top surface of the assembly such that the seating plate performs the tilting operation; a coupling plate detatchably coupled to a lower portion of the seating plate; and a cushion to cover a top surface and sidewalls of the seating plate, wherein an inclination part is formed at an edge of a bottom surface of the seating plate such that the inclination part is inclined inward of the seating plate, and wherein the coupling plate is, through one manipulation, coupled to an inner space of the inclination part or decoupled from the inclination part, while elastically deforming the inclination part formed on the bottom surface of the seating plate. 